Act 18: Predator and Prey
by The Admiral
Summary: Angel and Dorothy go on a manhunt...but are they the only predators?
1. Default Chapter

For the last time (not really), I do not own Big O or any of its characters. I am making no $$$ off this whatsoever. It is futile to sue me. So there.  
  
  
Act 18: Predator and Prey  
  
  
It was three days after Big O had vanished under an avalanche of collapsing cityscape. Paradigm was buzzing with talk of the titanic battles that had devastated the city over the last two months. It was now widely known that Roger Smith had been the black Megaceuce's pilot, seeing as how it was impossible to cover up his dissappearence as chief Negotiator.  
  
Despite this, the Smith mansion remained largely undisturbed. No swarms of reporters had descended upon them, but Norman had the distinct feeling that the building was constantly being watched. By whom, he did not know. But someone lurked in the shadows, waiting for a turn of events that might involve the household.  
  
Dorothy lay in the bed Roger had provided for her, though it was seldom used. After Norman had brought her home and run several system checks, she had come here to be alone with her thoughts. For the last two days, all she could do was stare at the ceiling, lost in thought. Angel quietly closed the door, puzzled at the android's behavior.  
  
'She's just a machine, and cannot feel,' she kept reminding herself, 'It must be some malfunction Norman couldn't find. That's got to be it.'  
  
Dorothy was absent even at the regular meals, such was her withdrawal. Angel decided to bring it up at dinner.  
  
"Norman, she's been like this for two whole days. Are you sure you ran a thourogh diagnostic?"  
  
The one-eyed butler put his fork down. "Most certain, Miss Angel. There is nothing wrong with her physical systems."  
  
"What about her programming?"  
  
"I was unable to check her programming. Doing so would require a complete shutdown, something she has told me in no uncertain terms to not submit her to." Norman chuckled. "She said if I did, I would be in more danger than Swartzvald."  
  
Angel started. "What do you mean? Why is Swartzvald in danger?"  
  
Norman again dropped his silverware. "Do you not know? Miss Dorothy blames him entirely for Master Roger's...er...dissappearence. While I was taking her home, she was muttering to herself about vengance." He leaned forward, as if imparting a secret. "I do believe she had some strong feelings towards Master Roger, even if neither of them realized it."  
  
"But all of that's impossible! Androids have no emotions! They're not capable of it!"  
  
Norman stood to clear the table. "Not supposed to be capable of it, yes. But androids are also not supposed to be capable of harming humans. Red Destiny proved that wrong. Perhaps we have all underestimated their capabilities. Now if you shall excuse me..."  
  
With that he walked out of the door, leaving Angel with a great deal to think about.  
  
  
On the morning of the fourth day, both of the humans in the house woke to piano music. It was not the bright, vivid sonata that would normally wake Roger, but rather, a frightful march, a song of death and anger, and the way it was being played chilled Angel to the bone. She entered the piano room to find Dorothy seated before the keys, her eyes vacant and cold.  
  
"I must say, Miss Dorothy, it is an unusual choice for such an early hour. But well played nonetheless." Norman entered, already fully dressed. "And it is a pleasure to see you up and about again."  
  
Dorothy finished the final arpeggio, a rumbling chord that gave Angel goose bumps, and stood. "I will be going out tonight, Norman. I will need to borrow some things from the store-room." Again, Angel shivered. The voice was cold and mechanical, but with a sense of purpose behind it.  
  
"Very well, Miss Dorothy. Take what you shall need and be sure to return for dinner."  
  
Dorothy nodded once, then looked at Angel.  
  
"What?" asked Angel innocently.  
  
"You know where I am going, and what I intend to do."  
  
"Well, from what Norman told me last night and your litle death march a minute ago, I would assume you plan to kill Swartzvald."  
  
Dorothy said nothing.  
  
Angel sighed. "Alright, alright, I'll come with you. The bastard does deserve payback, after all." She looked Dorothy up and down. "Though I somehow doubt you know how to go about this." Angel brushed past the android and headed for the equipment closet. "Let's get started on the basics." 


	2. Part Two

For the last time (not really), I do not own Big O or any of its characters. I am making no $$$ off this whatsoever. It is futile to sue me. So there.  
  
  
  
Dorothy stood behind Angel, fingering a long hunting knife that the blonde woman had passed back to her. She touched the tip of the blade to her palm, then placed it on top of the ever-growing pile of weapons and maniacal devices. "Hold this, would you?" Angel handed her a semi-automatic. "For someone who refused to carry a gun, Roger had quite the arsenal." She briefly emerged with a bizzare-looking gun that had a pair of pincers instead of a barrel. "Did he even have a license for that thing?" Dorothy held the device for a moment, then placed it onto their pile of equipment.  
  
"Is all of this really neccessary?"  
  
Angel emerged once more with two bullet-belts thrown over her shoulder. "Do you want to do this the right way or not?"  
  
Dorothy pursed her lips but said nothing.  
  
"Right. And one more thing-go change. That dress will get in the way at every turn." Angel placed the twin ammo belts on the pile and dove back in. "I didn't even know they made these things anymore..."  
  
  
Some two hours later, the two women were making their way down into the catacombs beneath the tracks Big O had used. Angel had a variety of devices thrown over her back and strapped to her belt. Dorothy, in a dark blue jumpsuit that Norman had dug up from somewhere, followed. She was decked out with the ammo belts and was weilding the 4-foot machine gun Norman was so fond of. More implements of destruction were crammed into a backpack.  
  
"Where did you say the hatch was?" Angel was searching for the entrance to the lower levels that Roger and later, Dorothy, had used to find Swartzald so many weeks ago.  
  
"Over here." Dorothy reached down with one hand and heaved a huge stone block aside. Beneath it, the hatch had been sloppily bolted shut.  
  
Angel stood beside Dorothy and chuckled. "Looks like Swartzy wants his privacy. Hand me that blowtorch, would you?" When Dorothy had retrieved the tool from her pack, Angel set to work on the few bolts that were holding the panel down.  
  
"I think I should warn you...there is a place further down that Roger collapsed at. I am not sure if it will affect you in any way, but I assumed you would want to know in any case."  
  
"What do you mean? Why'd he collapse?"  
  
Dorothy seated herself on the large stone she had recently flung aside. "From what little I know of human emotions, fear. When I found him, he was unconcious. He awoke, and called me 'Mama.' I did not know what to make of this until you revealed who his mother was."  
  
Angel pryed one of the bolts loose. "That would make sense, seeing as how you are her exact copy." She examined the iron plate. "Think you could move this aside?"  
  
Dorothy responded by gripping the metal with one hand and tearing it free, then dropping it next to her. Angel smirked, shook her head, and started down the ladder. Dorothy followed. Neither of them saw the shape that moved out from a shadowy corner, a figure clad in a red cloak...  
  
  
"Shh! Did you hear that?" A footstep ehcoed through the tunnel.  
  
"Of course I did. My hearing is 8.27 times more accurate than the average human."  
  
"Oh. Well, get behind that rock over there. If it's him, we'll take him by surprise." The android nodded, and backed behind a concrete pillar, hugging the wall. Angel did likewise on the opposite side, pulling out a handgun from her waist arsenal. Dorothy tightened her grip on the machine gun.  
  
What came down the passage was not Swartzvald at all. An extremely large and ugly rat scampered up, looked at Angel with beady eyes, squeaked, and fled into a hole in the wall. Angel let out her breath, and moved back into the open. A mistake.  
  
Swartzvald struck her from behind, bringing down his fist on the back of her neck. Angel cried out and fell to the ground. He brought his foot down between her shoulder blades, and ground the heel in deep. "Some people just don't know when to turn back, do they, my dear?" Dorothy emerged from the shadows, leveled her weapon the man's chest, and pulled the trigger.  
  
Nothing happened.  
  
Swartzvald burst into insane laughter, and placed his foot on Angel's head. "I'll take care of you, and then your little android friend as well!" Dorothy threw her gun aside and ran straight at him, tackling Swartzvald in his gut. When Angel sat up, Dorothy had him against the wall with one hand clutching his throat. He was pounding against her arm, to no effect.  
  
"This is for Roger!" Angel heard passion and hatred in the mechanical voice, something that androids were, again, not supposed to be capable of. She got to her feet and moved up behind Dorothy. Her mouth opened to speak when two gunshots thundered throught the tunnel, and a bullet bounced off a stone at Dorothy's feet. Both of them turned to the source of the fire.  
  
Red Destiny, hood down, a pistol in her hand, stood in the middle of the passage. 


	3. Part Three

For the last time (not really), I do not own Big O or any of its characters. I am making no $$$ off this whatsoever. It is futile to sue me. So there.  
  
  
  
Angel dove behind the outcropping of stone. "Dorothy, get back!"  
  
The vengeful android did not move her eyes from Swartzvald's face, gasping for air. "He is not gone yet."  
  
"We'll take care of him later! Come on!"  
  
A bullet struck Dorothy in the right arm, sending sparks flying and shattering circuts. She jerked back and dropped Swartzvald. While she stared down at her exposed inner workings in shock, Angel reached out and yanked her into cover. "Ow!" Dorothy stumbled into the shadow and rested next to Angel, but Angel's arm felt as if it had been torn from the socket.  
  
"What do you want from us? The pilot is already dead!" Angel cried to the second android advancing down the passage.  
  
"But the other chariot lies in the hands of a serpent. One who must be punished for treachery."  
  
I was an odd experience for Dorothy, her own voice coming from another source, saying things that made little sense to her.  
  
"Alright, if it's me you want, then let Dorothy go! She has nothing you need!" Dorothy turned to Angel, surprised at this change of heart.  
  
"She knows that which should not be known. She searches for the forever lost. She cannot be allowed to continue."  
  
"I also have your face," said Dorothy, just loud enough to be audible. The other android stopped its advance.  
  
Angel took full advantage of Red Destiny's momentary hesitation to lean around the corner and fire several shots into the android. The red-cloaked figure faltered, but did not fall.  
  
"Come on!" Angel and Dorothy fled further down the tunnel.  
  
  
Red Destiny approached the room slowly. Her prey was in here, she knew it. There was no other way out. Mechanical eyes scanned the round room. Several passages led off into the dark, each with a ledge above the doorway. The murderous android advanced slowly into the room.  
  
Dorothy and Angel both leapt down from ther place on the ledge behind Red Destiny at once. Before they had even reached it the android assasin was already turning. Her arm shot out and threw Angel across the room, dropping her on the floor. Dorothy landed right in her face, and smacked the gun out of Red Destiny's hand. The other android stumbled backwards, surprised. Dorothy followed up with several blows to the face, driving her backwards into the wall. When Dorothy had her pinned, she slammed a fist into her opponent's gut and tore through the artifical skin. She reached INTO Red Destiny, grabbed an assortment of cables and wires, and pulled hard. The main power trunk, along with several control connections, came free in her hand. Red Destiny shuddered, shock clearly on the android's face, and sank slowly to the floor. The insane look vanished from her eyes.  
  
Dorothy dropped the mass of wires, and walked over to Angel, who was just now beginning to rise. She pulled Angel to her feet in one swift move. The two of them turned to look at the crumpled form of their attacker, then locked gazes. By the time they made it back to where they had encountered Swartzvald, he was long gone. As they retrieved their dropped equipment, Angel turned to Dorothy.  
  
"I think we both need a little work in this department." She grinned awkwardly as Dorothy hefted the faulty machine gun again.  
  
"I could not have said it better." She looked at the watch on her wrist. "Norman will have dinner ready soon." She looked down the tunnel, and Angel knew she was considering going after him even now.  
  
"Let him run, Dorothy. We'll have our vengance another night. For now, let's go home." The android turned back to Angel, pursed her lips, and headed back for the ladder to the upper levels. Angel let out her breath; she was by no means eager to follow Dorothy deeper into the catacombs. Right now, all she wanted was a good meal...  
  
  
  
  
  
  
This one was somewhat more difficult than anything so far, because Dorothy is going through a major change. Reviews craved as usual!! 


End file.
